ACTIONS
- Protect and safeguard cultural and natural heritage
- Learning and educational opportunities
- Cultural participation/social inclusion
- Sustainable tourism
- Support research
- Employment (recruiting, training, safety)
- Energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions
- Waste management and reduction
- Transport (forms of, energy use)
- Commercial activities including copyright and IP
- Governance and management
- Security, disaster preparedness, risk reduction
- External partnerships and collaborations
- Publication/report
- Case studies
Tourism, Culture and Sustainable Development

Intended Audience
Policy makers and practitioners working in the field of tourism and culture.
- M. Robinson and D. Picard, UNESCO
“Following the 2002 Johannesburg Summit which identified the need to explore the relationships between cultural diversity, inter-cultural dialogue and sustainable development, the central aim of this report is to assist policy makers and practitioners working in the field of tourism and culture by highlighting and critically examining the role of tourism in the processes surrounding these relationships." (p.12)
Avaiable in
- English
SDGs LINKAGES
The resource is closely linked with SDG 8.9 (promote sustainable tourism) and 8.3 (job creation).
Ensuring local communities in islands and low-income countries benefit financially from tourism supports SDG 14.7.
Individual sections relate to 10.2 (promote social, economic and political inclusion) and 4.7 (Education for Sustainable Development).
Sustainable tourism can help strengthen the protection of cultural and natural heritage (SDG 11.4), strengthen the protection of marine areas (SDG 14.2).
Protecting the natural environment supports SDG 15.5 and the conservation of particular ecosystems such as forests (SDG 15.2) and mountains (SDG 15.4), and tourism can bring in revenues that support conservation in developing countries (SDG 15.A), finance forest protection (SDG 15.B) and support livelihoods in harmony with nature (SDG 15.C).
Developing tools to measure sustainable tourism supports SDG 12.B.
Policies in support of sustainable development support SDG 16.B and 17.14 (policy coherence).
Sustainable tourism can support global (SDG 17.16) and multistakeholder (17.17) partnerships for sustainable development.
Click on the SDG Target to discover Our Collections Matter indicators
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Numbers of people in each type of programme drawing on collections from different demographic groups.
- Increases in numbers of people in each type of programme from different demographic groups.
- Proportion of people involved in such programmes in relation to overall audience size.
- Evidence that learners have acquired knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Development-oriented policies in place for the range of activities, or development-oriented considerations are included in other policies.
- Number of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises supported.
- Number and proportion of formalised arrangements with micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises.
- Total value of financial services or financial support provided to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Numbers of jobs created or supported that relate to sustainable tourism drawing on local products (e.g. craft producers).
- Develop and implement plans to reduce and remove negative impacts of tourism.
- Numbers of activities and/or products drawing on local culture.
- Value to artisans and source communities of activities and products drawing on local culture.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Collections development to ensure that collections effectively meet the needs of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
- Number and proportion of educational and participatory programmes that promote participation irrespective of social or other status.
- Numbers and proportions of people making use of collections in relation to the demographic of the local population.
- Numbers and proportions of people involved in focused programmes aimed at promoting social, economic and political inclusion.
- Numbers and proportions of people from different demographic groups involved in decision-making processes relating to collections and collections-based institutions.
- Number and types of partnerships that build relationships with marginalized groups, individuals and communities.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Total expenditure (public and private) per capita spent on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by type of heritage.
- Plans, policies and procedures in place for the safe use of collections for a variety of purposes, protecting and safeguarding both collections and those who use them.
- Plans, policies and procedures in place for the identification, safeguarding and protection of cultural and natural heritage at risk.
- Collecting programmes in place to protect, safeguard and make use of cultural and natural heritage, addressing the needs of communities and stakeholders, and ensuring that collections can be an effective resource for sustainable development.
- Number and diversity of educational, awareness-raising, research programmes, and partnerships that aim to strengthen protection of cultural and natural heritage.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Quantitative and qualitative metrics identified, collected and reported for evaluating performance of tourism in terms of social, environmental and economic benefits and impacts for:
-jobs
-promotion of local culture
-local and related products
-positive social and environmental benefits
-reduction of negative impacts of tourism, e.g. climate impacts, negative social and environmental impacts.
- Quantitative and qualitative metrics identified, collected and reported for evaluating performance of tourism in terms of social, environmental and economic benefits and impacts for:
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Proportion of marine and coastal areas in a good ecological condition.
- Numbers of educational and awareness-raising programmes, research activities, and partnerships drawing on collections aiming to support protection of marine and coastal areas.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Number of activities that support sustainable tourism relating to Small Island developing States and least developed countries.
- Economic benefits by value to Small Island Developing States and least developed countries.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Proportion of forests in a good ecological condition.
- Information on, programmes relating to, collections development, and partnerships relating to forests drawing on collections in place, to support their protection and effective functioning.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Proportion of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in a good ecological condition.
- Information on, programmes relating to, collections development, and partnerships relating to mountain ecosystems and their biodiversity drawing on collections in place, to support their protection and effective functioning.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Number and proportion of habitats, notably endangered habitats, and species with favourable conservation status, with special reference to locally, nationally and globally endangered species.
- Information on, programmes relating to, collections development, and partnerships relating to habitats and species drawing on collections in place, to support their protection and continued existence.
- Measures taken to enhance biodiversity value of green space associated with collections institutions.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Revenue generated to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems.
- Direct financial support given to projects and organisations for conservation and/or sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Revenue generated to conserve and sustainably use forests, including conservation and reforestation, and that support local and Indigenous peoples.
- Direct financial support given to projects and organisations to conserve and sustainably use forests, including for conservation and reforestation, and that support local and Indigenous peoples.
- Other forms of support provided to projects and organisations to conserve and sustainably use forests, including for conservation and reforestation, and that support local and Indigenous peoples.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Policies and plans in place to ensure objects and specimens of protected species (for example ivory, rhino horn) in collections are protected against theft and do not enter supply chains.
- Policies and plans in place to ensure that objects and specimens are only acquired in line with national and international legislation, or with legal dispensation.
- Revenue generated to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, and to support local communities to pursue sustainable livelihoods.
- Direct financial support given to projects and organisations to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, and to support local communities to pursue sustainable livelihoods.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Proportion of population [audience/users/non-users] reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law.
- Number and proportion of policies that incorporate sustainable development considerations, in the full sense of recognizing all three of social, economic and environmental considerations.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Proportion of policies that incorporate sustainable development considerations, linking to SDGs and targets.
- Incorporation of policy considerations from outside the collections sector into policies of collections-based institutions, to facilitate partnerships and effectiveness.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of global and international multi-stakeholder partnerships that share collection-related knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources to address the SDGs, or that otherwise involve collections-based organisations and institutions.
- Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of global and international multi-stakeholder partnerships involving developing countries that share collection-related knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources to address the SDGs.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private and civil society partnerships.
- Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of local, national and regional multi-stakeholder (public, public-private and civil society) partnerships that address the SDGs drawing on collections, or that otherwise involve collections-based organisations and institutions.